This proposal is for a five-year continuation application. It describes the programs accomplishments and proposes continuation and new activities for which funding is being sought. It is the product of a partnership between the University of Miami (UM) and the five campuses of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC). The goals of the program are (1) to improve the academic performance of under-represented minority students in the sciences at the community college and (2) to facilitate the transition of these students into the biomedical science program at UM. Key activities will focus on student development, faculty development and curricular innovation. For students, the activities are: research traineeships in UM labs, presentation of research results at extramural scientific meetings, a high school-to-MDCC transition course, an Emerging Scholars workshop, a faculty-student research forum, a biotechnology course, advising and career counseling, and accessing biological science information via the Internet. Community college faculty will be offered the following: research fellowships for a semesters work in UM labs, workshops at UM in information technology, and seminars on innovative teaching by renowned educators. MDCC and UM faculty will cooperate to develop new courses and a biology workshop that will be incorporated into the regular curriculum in the community college. The program will train 30 MDCC students each year, 15 students in their first year and 15 in their second year of the program. Clearly defined mechanisms are in place for assessing the success of the project.